1x message bundling

ABSTRACT

A method includes receiving, at a network entity, a circuit switched paging request, wherein the paging request is for a UE that is attached to a packet data network and is registered to a circuit switched network. The method also includes obtaining a calling party number from the circuit switched network, the calling party number being information corresponding to a call from a party calling the UE, and generating a circuit service notification application message comprising more than one message of the circuit switch technology, such that one of message comprises the calling party number. Another operation relates to transmitting, from the network entity to the UE, the circuit service notification application message, the transmitting occurring while the UE is attached to the packet data network and while the UE is operating in an active state for receiving and/or transmitting packet data or signaling messages.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/011,566, filed on Jan. 21, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,585,120, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/297,192, filedon Jan. 21, 2010, 61/297,175, filed on Jan. 21, 2010, and 61/353,347,filed on Jun. 10, 2010, the contents of which are all herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to wireless communications, andin particular, to paging techniques for a terminal in a wirelesscommunication system.

DISCUSSION OF THE RELATED ART

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide variouscommunication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging,broadcast, and the like. These wireless systems employ various accessschemes capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the availablesystem resources. A universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) isa 3rd Generation (3G) asynchronous mobile communication system operatingin wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) based on Europeansystems, global system for mobile communications (GSM) and generalpacket radio services (GPRS). A long term evolution (LTE) type cellularnetwork of UMTS is under discussion by the 3rd generation partnershipproject (3GPP) that standardized UMTS.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an embodiment, a method includes receiving, at anetwork entity, a circuit switched paging request, wherein the pagingrequest is for a UE that is attached to a packet data network and isregistered to a circuit switched network. The method also includesobtaining a calling party number from the circuit switched network, thecalling party number being information corresponding to a call from aparty calling the UE, and generating a Generic Circuit ServiceNotification Application (GCSNA) message comprising more than onemessage of the circuit switch technology and one of the messagescomprises the calling party number. Another operation relates totransmitting, from the network entity to the UE, the circuit servicenotification message, the transmitting occurring while the UE isattached to the packet data network and while the UE is operating in anactive state for receiving and/or transmitting packet data or signalingmessages.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method for receiving callinformation in a UE includes operating the UE in an attached mode suchthat the UE is attached to a packet data network, and operating the UEin a registered mode, during at least a portion of time during theattached mode, such that the UE is registered to a circuit switchednetwork. The method further includes receiving, at the UE from a networkentity, a GCSNA message comprising more than one message of the circuitswitch technology and one of the messages comprises a calling partynumber that is information corresponding to a call from a party callingthe UE, and where the receiving occurs while the UE is in the attachedmode and while the UE operates in an active state for receiving and/ortransmitting packet data or signaling messages.

These and other embodiments will also become readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following detailed description of theembodiments having reference to the attached figures, the presentdisclosure not being limited to any particular embodiment disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects and features of the present disclosure willbecome more apparent upon consideration of the following description ofembodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network structure of an evolved universalmobile telecommunication system (E-UMTS) in accordance with variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2(a) is a block diagram depicting a general structure of a typicalE-UTRAN and that of a typical EPC.

FIGS. 2(b) and 2(c) are block diagrams depicting the user-plane protocoland the control-plane protocol stack for a E-UMTS network.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting architecture for CS fallback to1×RTT in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 depicts a protocol stack for various entities according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5a depicts signaling flow for paging and other procedures accordingto various embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5b depicts signaling flow for paging and other procedures accordingto further various embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 depicts a GCSNA message and various fields in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 depicts a message and various fields in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 depicts a general page message (GPM) and various fields inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 depicts a PDU format for a mobile station addressed page.

FIG. 10 depicts an enhanced broadcast page that may be implemented inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 11 depicts a feature notification message (FNM) that may beimplemented in accordance with various embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 depicts a calling part number message that may be implemented inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 13 and 14 are block diagrams depicting examples in which a circuitservice notification message includes a general page message and afeature notification message in accordance with various embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing in more detail various componentswhich may be implemented in a mobile terminal according to variousembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawing figures which form a part hereof, and which show byway of illustration specific embodiments of the invention. It is to beunderstood by those of ordinary skill in this technological field thatother embodiments may be utilized, and structural, electrical, as wellas procedural changes may be made without departing from the scope ofthe present invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similarparts.

Various embodiments will be presented herein in the context of awireless communication network and associated entities configured inaccordance with the LTE system. However, alternatives to suchimplementations are envisioned, and teachings with regard to LTE aregenerally applicable to other standards and air interfaces as well.Moreover, the use of certain terms to describe various embodimentsshould not limit such embodiments to a certain type of wirelesscommunication system, such LTE. Various embodiments are also applicableto other wireless communication systems using different air interfacesand/or physical layers including, for example, frequency divisionmultiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), codedivision multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), LTE-Advanced,and the global system for mobile communications (GSM). By way ofnon-limiting example only, further description will relate to an LTEsystem, but such teachings apply equally to other system types.

The 3GPP LTE is a technology for enabling high-speed packetcommunications. Many schemes have been proposed for the LTE objectiveincluding those that aim to reduce user and provider costs, improveservice quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity.The 3G LTE requires reduced cost per bit, increased serviceavailability, flexible use of a frequency band, a simple structure, anopen interface, and adequate power consumption of a terminal as anupper-level requirement.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network structure of an evolved universalmobile telecommunication system (E-UMTS) in accordance with variousembodiments of the present invention. The E-UMTS may be also referred toas an LTE system. The system may be widely deployed to provide a varietyof communication services such as voice and packet data, and isgenerally configured to function based upon the various techniquespresented herein and discussed in more detail with regard to laterfigures.

With reference to FIG. 1, the E-UMTS network includes an evolved UMTSterrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), an Evolved Packet Core(EPC), and one or more mobile terminals (or user equipment (UE)) 10. TheE-UTRAN includes one or more eNodeBs 20. Regarding the EPC, MME/SAEgateway 30 provides an end point of a session and mobility managementfunction for the UE 10. The eNodeB 20 and the MME/SAE gateway 30 may beconnected via an S1 interface.

The UE 10 is a communication device carried by a user and may also bereferred to as a mobile station (MS), a user terminal (UT), a subscriberstation (SS) or a wireless device.

The eNodeB 20 is generally a fixed station that communicates with the UE10. In addition to being referred to as a base station, the eNodeB 20may also be referred to as an access point. An eNodeB 20 provides endpoints of a user plane and a control plane to the UE 10. In general, theeNodeB includes a transmitter and processor, among other components, andis configured to operate in accordance with the various techniquespresented herein.

A plurality of UEs 10 may be located in one cell. One eNodeB 20 istypically deployed per cell. An interface for transmitting user trafficor control traffic may be used between eNodeBs 20. As used herein,“downlink” refers to communication from the eNodeB 20 to the UE 10, and“uplink” refers to communication from the UE to the eNodeB.

The MME gateway 30 provides various functions including distribution ofpaging messages to eNodeBs 20, security control, idle state mobilitycontrol, SAE bearer control, and ciphering and integrity protection ofnon-access stratum (NAS) signaling. The SAE gateway 30 provides assortedfunctions including termination of U-plane packets for paging reasons,and switching of the U-plane to support UE mobility. For ease ofdescription, the MME/SAE gateway 30 may be referred to herein as simplya “gateway”. However, it is understood that such a structure may alsoinclude both an MME gateway and an SAE gateway.

A plurality of nodes may be connected between eNodeB 20 and gateway 30via the S1 interface. The eNodeBs 20 may be connected to each other viaan X2 interface and neighboring eNodeBs may have a meshed networkstructure that has the X2 interface.

FIG. 2(a) is a block diagram depicting a general structure of a typicalE-UTRAN and that of a typical EPC. With reference to FIG. 2(a), eNodeB20 may perform functions of selection for gateway 30, routing toward thegateway during a Radio Resource Control (RRC) activation, scheduling andtransmitting of paging messages, scheduling and transmitting ofBroadcast Channel (BCCH) information, dynamic allocation of resources toUEs 10 in both uplink and downlink, configuration and provisioning ofeNodeB measurements, radio bearer control, radio admission control(RAC), and connection mobility control in LTE_ACTIVE state.

In the EPC, and as described above, gateway 30 may perform functions ofpaging origination, LTE-IDLE state management, ciphering of the userplane, System Architecture Evolution (SAE) bearer control, and cipheringand integrity protection of Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling.

FIGS. 2(b) and 2(c) are block diagrams depicting the user-plane protocoland the control-plane protocol stack for the E-UMTS network. Withreference to FIGS. 2(b) and 2(c), the protocol layers may be dividedinto a first layer (L1), a second layer (L2) and a third layer (L3)based upon the three lower layers of an open system interconnection(OSI) standard model as known in the art of communication systems.

The first layer L1 (or the physical layer) provides an informationtransmission service to an upper layer using a physical channel. Thephysical layer is connected with a medium access control (MAC) layerlocated at a higher level through a transport channel, and data betweenthe MAC layer and the physical layer are transferred via the transportchannel. Between different physical layers, namely, between physicallayers of a transmission side and a reception side (for example, betweenphysical layers of UE 10 and eNodeB 20), data are transferred via thephysical channel 21.

The MAC layer of Layer 2 (L2) provides services to a radio link control(RLC) layer (which is a higher layer) via a logical channel. The RLClayer of Layer 2 (L2) supports a reliable transmission of data. Althoughthe RLC layer is shown in FIGS. 2(b) and 2(c) as being separate from theMAC layer, it is understood that the functions of the RLC layer may beperformed by the MAC layer and that, therefore, a separate RLC layer isnot required. With reference to FIG. 2(b), the packet data convergenceprotocol (PDCP) layer of Layer 2 (L2) performs a header compressionfunction that reduces unnecessary control information such that databeing transmitted by employing Internet protocol (IP) packets, such asIPv4 or IPv6, can be efficiently sent over a radio (wireless) interfacethat has a relatively small bandwidth.

With reference to FIG. 2(c), a radio resource control (RRC) layerlocated at the lowest portion of the third layer (L3) is typically onlydefined in the control plane and controls logical channels, transportchannels and the physical channels in relation to the configuration,reconfiguration, and release of the radio bearers (RBs). Here, the RBsignifies a service provided by the second layer (L2) for datatransmission between the terminal and the E-UTRAN.

With reference to FIG. 2(b), the RLC and MAC layers (terminated in aneNodeB 20 on the network side) may perform functions such as Scheduling,Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ), and hybrid automatic repeat request(HARQ). The PDCP layer (terminated in eNodeB 20 on the network side) mayperform the user plane functions such as header compression, integrityprotection, and ciphering.

With reference to FIG. 2(c), the RLC and MAC layers (terminated in aneNodeB 20 on the network side) perform the same or similar functions asfor the control plane. The RRC layer (terminated in an eNodeB 20 on thenetwork side) may perform functions such as broadcasting, paging, RRCconnection management, Radio Bearer (RB) control, mobility functions,and UE measurement reporting and controlling. The NAS control protocol(terminated in the MME of gateway 30 on the network side) may performfunctions such as a SAE bearer management, authentication, LTE_IDLEmobility handling, paging origination in LTE_IDLE, and security controlfor the signaling between the gateway and UE 10.

The NAS control protocol may use three different states: first, aLTE_DETACHED state if there is no RRC entity; second, a LTE_IDLE stateif there is no RRC connection while storing minimal UE information; andthird, an LTE_ACTIVE state if the RRC connection is established.

Also, the RRC state may be divided into two different states such as anRRC_IDLE state and an RRC_CONNECTED state. In the RRC_IDLE state, the UE10 may receive broadcasts of system information and paging informationwhile the UE specifies a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) configured byNAS, and the UE has been allocated an identification (ID) which uniquelyidentifies the UE in a tracking area. Also, in the RRC-IDLE state, noRRC context is stored in the eNodeB.

In the RRC_IDLE state, the UE 10 specifies the paging DRX (DiscontinuousReception) cycle. Specifically, the UE 10 monitors a paging signal at aspecific paging occasion of every UE specific paging DRX cycle.

In the RRC_CONNECTED state, the UE 10 has an E-UTRAN RRC connection anda context in the E-UTRAN, such that transmitting and/or receiving datato/from the network (eNodeB) becomes possible. Also, the UE 10 canreport channel quality information and feedback information to theeNodeB.

In RRC_CONNECTED state, the E-UTRAN knows the cell to which the UE 10belongs. Therefore, the network can transmit and/or receive data to/fromUE 10, the network can control mobility (handover) of the UE, and thenetwork can perform cell measurements for a neighboring cell.

It is generally understood that the LTE network or UE has challengesoperating with IMS (Internet Multimedia Subsystem) voice services. Theusual arrangement is for the LTE network to connect to a 1×RTT networkto provide 1× Circuit Switch Fallback (1×CSFB) for voice service. TheMME is typically positioned to connect to 1×IWS via a S102 interface.UEs operating in the system are capable of functioning with both 1×RTTand LTE, and may be enhanced with generic circuit services notificationapplication protocol (GCSNA) to communicate with 1×IWS for 1× signalingtransactions when the UE is active in LTE. The UE and IWS communicatewith each other for such things as 1× registration, paging, SMS,origination, handoff, and the like.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting architecture for CS fallback to1×RTT in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. It isunderstood that some or all of the aspects of the UE, E-UTRAN, and MMEdepicted in this figure may be implemented by the corresponding entitiesshown in FIGS. 1 and 5, for example. Referring still to FIG. 3, the CSfallback for 1×RTT in an evolved packet system (EPS) typically enablesthe delivery of CS-domain services (e.g. CS voice) by reuse of the 1×CSinfrastructure when the UE is served by the E-UTRAN or similar entity. ACS fallback enabled terminal, while connected to the E-UTRAN, mayregister in the 1×RTT CS domain in order to be able to use 1×RTT accessto establish one or more CS services in the CS domain. The CS fallbackfunction may be available where E-UTRAN coverage overlaps with 1×RTTcoverage.

CS Fallback to 1×RTT and IMS (IP multimedia subsystem) based servicesmay function so that they are able to coexist in the same operator'snetwork. The CS fallback in EPS may be realized by reusing the S102reference point between the MME and the 1×CS IWS. The S102 interface maybe implemented as the reference point between the MME and the 1×CS IWS.The S102 reference point may provide a tunnel between the MME and a3GPP2, for example, 1×CS IWS to relay 3GPP2 1×CS signaling messages. Itis understood that 1×CS signaling messages include those messages thatare defined for an A21 interface as often implemented in the 3GPP2specifications.

The UE is generally capable of CS fallback to 1×RTT and SMS, forexample, over 1×CS and supports access to E-UTRAN/EPC as well as accessto the 1×CS domain over 1×RTT. The UE typically supports the followingadditional functions:

-   -   1×RTT CS registration over the EPS after the UE has completed        the E-UTRAN attachment;    -   1×RTT CS re-registration due to mobility;    -   CS fallback procedures specified for 1×RTT CS domain voice        service; and    -   Procedures for mobile originated and mobile terminated SMS over        E-UTRAN.

The MME may be configured to enable CS fallback to 1×RTT and to supportthe following additional functions:

-   -   Serve as signaling tunneling end point towards the 1×CS IWS via        the S102 interface for sending/receiving encapsulated 1×CS        signaling messages to/from the UE, which are encapsulated in        S1-MME S1 information transfer messages;    -   1×CS-IWS (terminating S102 reference point) selection for CSFB        procedures;    -   Handling of S102 tunnel redirection in the case of MME        relocation;    -   Buffering of messages received via S102 for UEs in the idle        state.

The E-UTRAN may be enabled for CS fallback to 1×RTT and typicallysupports the following additional functions:

-   -   Provision of control information that causes the UE to trigger        1×CS registration;    -   Forwarding 1×RTT CS paging request to the UE;    -   Forwarding 1×RTT CS related messages between the MME and UE; and    -   Release of E-UTRAN resources after UE leaves E-UTRAN coverage        subsequent to a page for CS fallback to 1×RTT CS.

FIG. 4 depicts a protocol stack for various entities according toembodiments of the present invention. Depicted is a generic circuitservices notification application (GCSNA) protocol that supportssignaling transactions for cdma2000 1× circuit-switched services betweenthe mobile station (e.g., UE 10) and 1×CS IWS through various radioaccess technologies which provide a tunnel between the mobile stationand IWS.

As presented herein, the term IWS is generally used without regard tothe placement of the IWS, such that it may be configured to bestandalone, collocated with the base station controller, and the like.In general, the IWS may be configured to provide message translation, 1×parameters storage, and RAND generation.

Message Translation refers to the function that translates between IOSA1/A1p messages received from/sent to the MSC and 1× air interfacesignaling messages sent/received over other access technology. The 1×parameters storage stores 1× radio parameters required for GCSNAsupport. RAND generation provides the random challenge value (RAND) usedfor 1× authentication. This function may be in another accesstechnology. If the IWS supports RAND generation and 1× parameterprovisioning, a RAND value provided by the IWS to the mobile stationtakes precedence over a RAND value provided to the mobile station by anode in the other access technology.

FIG. 5a depicts signaling flow for paging and other procedures accordingto various embodiments of the present invention. It is understood thatsome or all of the aspects of the UE, E-UTRAN, MME, MSC, S-GW depictedin this figure may be implemented by the corresponding entities shownthe previous figures, for example. In general the depicted proceduresinclude the scenario of a mobile terminating call procedure when the UEaccepts or rejects CS paging for the CS fallback to 1×RTT, for example.

By way of overview of one example, when the 1×MSC receives aregistration from a UE, it may make note of the radio access network(RAN) equipment from which it received the registration. Subsequentpaging activities may thus be directed toward that RAN equipment.However, paging activities by the MSC are not limited to the single RANequipment from which the registration was received. The MSC may chooseto page a wider area, including inter-system paging. If the MSC hasdirect interfaces to 1×CS IWS, as well as to 1×RTT access, the MSC maychoose to do direct paging activities to both the E-UTRAN and 1×RANequipment in its attempts to contact the UE.

The paging request is sent by the MSC to the IWS and is ultimatelydelivered to the UE via the tunnel. The UE tunes to 1×RTT access,acknowledges the 1× page and performs the 1×CS procedures for a mobileterminated call. When the UE receives a page message, it may not want toaccept it based on caller line identification or pre-provisioned localpolicy, for example. In that case, according to an embodiment, the UEsends the 1× Release Order to 1×CS IWS over a tunnel in E-UTRAN and EPC.

With this overview, various operations in accordance with assortedembodiments of FIG. 5a will now be described in more detail. Inparticular, operation 1 includes the UE being attached to the E-UTRANand being registered with the 1×RTT CS network.

Operation 2 shows the MSC sending a paging request to the CS IWS nodewith caller line identification, if available. The content of thispaging request may vary, and such alternatives will be described in moredetail in conjunction with alternative embodiments.

Operation 3 is where the 1×CS IWS node forwards the 1×RTT CS pagingrequest and any included information by sending corresponding 1×RTTmessage(s) to the MME via the 5102 tunnel.

In operation 4, if the UE is in idle state, the MME may perform anetwork initiated service request procedure in order to bring the UE toactive state prior to tunneling of the 1×RTT CS paging request towardthe UE.

Operation 5 relates to the MME forwarding the 1×RTT CS paging request tothe UE. More specifically, in operation 5b, there is uplink and downlinkinformation transfer and tunneling. In some approaches, the UE wouldproceed with operation 6b, leaving the LTE and establishing an 1×RTTconnection. Then, after the 1×RTT connection is established, the UEwould receive an 1×RTT message containing the calling party number orother caller identification. At that point the user of the UE can decidewhether to take the call. Packet service interruption may occur if theuser rejects the call. This is denoted as approach A.

Another approach, denoted as approach B, is that the network informs UEthe calling party number before UE taking further actions in step 6. Forexample, the IWS in step 3 sends the 1×RTT General Page Message (GPM)and Feature Notification Message (FNM) messages to the UE, conditionedon that 1×RTT MSC in step 2 is capable of providing calling number withthe CS paging request. It is understood that these messages areencapsulated in GCSNA 1×CircuitService messages, and the current GCSNA1×CircuitService messages can only include a single 1× message. Inover-the-air (OTA) scenarios, sometimes related L3 messages are bundled,such as a page message and a message conveying the calling party number(FNM) used in this example. It is often useful for the logics of MSprocessing that these messages are unchanged when 1× messages aretunneled (e.g. related events can be informed to user together).

In situations involving the LTE, for example, consider next an RRCmessage such as: MobilityfromEUTRA, DL/UL information Transfer, orULHandoverPreparationTransfer. Such messages may include up to one GCSNAmessage. Although the MAC/RLC PDU of the LTE may contain multiple RRCmessages, the eNB, MME generally only act as a transport entity so theyare not aware the types of 1× messages transported. In such scenarios,the eNB scheduler cannot decide what RRC messages should be scheduled inthe same MAC/RLC PDU.

In this approach, under the assumption that one GCSNA message can onlycontain up to one 1×RTT message, when the UE receives a GPM, ittypically does not know whether there is a FNM coming. A timer, forexample, needs to be implemented to prevent the UE going to proceedingto operation step 6b before receiving the FNM. When utilized, the timerincreases CSFB delay if there is no FNM. This is because the eNB doesnot know the significance of the 1×RTT messages, and there is noguarantee it will concatenate the two downlink information transfermessages in the same LTE MAC/RLC packet.

To avoid this problem, the two 1×RTT messages may be bundled as oneGCSNA message by IWS in step 3 to be forwarded transparently by E-UTRANnetwork.

Regardless of which approach is taken, in operation 6a, if the UEdecides to reject CSFB (e.g., user decision by the caller lineidentification or the UE locally preprovisioned policy), then the UE mayreject the 1× CS paging by sending an 1× Release Order to the MME. TheMME forwards the 1× release order in an S102 direct transfer message tothe 1×CS IWS, which then sends a rejection to the MSC. This completesthe procedure under the UE rejection scenario.

Under a UE accept scenario, in operation 6b, if the UE accepts CS pagingfor the CS Fallback to 1×RTT, the UE sends an extended service request(e.g., CS fallback indicator) to the MME and proceeds with operations7-15. It is to be understood that operations 7-15 are but one example ofthe UE acceptance scenario, and that many other operations are possible.As such, the specifics regarding the operations that follow thisscenario are not critical or essential features of many embodiments ofthe present invention.

For example, in operation 7, the MME sends to the E-UTRAN UE contextmodification information (e.g., UE capabilities, CS Fallback Indicator,etc.) to indicate to the E-UTRAN to move the UE to 1×RTT.

In operation 8, the E-UTRAN may optionally solicit a measurement reportfrom the UE to determine the target 1×RTT cell to which the CS Fallbackwill be performed. Next, the E-UTRAN triggers an RRC connection releasewith redirection to 1×CS (operation 9). In operation, 10, the E-UTRANsends an S1 UE context release request (cause) message to the MME. Thecause message indicates that the S1 UE context release was caused by theCS fallback to 1×RTT.

Operation 11 is where the MME sets the UE context to suspended statusand sends to the S-GW a suspend request (IMSI) message that requests thesuspension of EPS bearers for the UE. The S1-U bearers are released forall EPS bearers by the MME and all GBR bearers are deactivated. Thenon-GBR bearers are preserved and are marked as suspended in the S-GW.

Operation 12 refers to the S-GW acknowledging the suspend requestmessage and marks the UE as suspended. When a downlink data arrives atthe S-GW, the S-GW should not send a downlink data notification messageto the MME if the UE is marked as suspended.

Operation 13 relates to the S1 UE context in the E-UTRAN as beingreleased, which leads to the UE tuning to the 1×RTT and acknowledgingthe page by transmitting a 1×RTT paging response message over the 1×access channel (operation 14).

In operation 15, the UE subsequently performs the procedure for mobileterminated call establishment as specified in 3GPP2, for example. OnceCS service ends in the 1×CS domain, the UE returns to the E-UTRAN byperforming reselection. The EPS service may also be resumed. It isunderstood that some or all of the processes with regard to the pagingrequest and included data may be performed by any of the networkentities (and sub-entities) shown in FIG. 5a (e.g., E-UTRAN, MME, IWS,MSC, etc.).

In accordance with further embodiments, it is to be understood that theCS paging request may include a general page message (GPM) that isencapsulated in another message (e.g., GCSNA1×CircuitService, alsoreferred to herein as “G1CS”) and is transported from the IWS to the UE.General flow of the process of FIG. 5a in these embodiments include:

-   -   G1CS is encapsulated in a S102 direct transfer message from the        IWS to the MME;    -   G1CS is encapsulated in a downlink S1 cdma2000 tunneling message        from the MME to the eNB; and    -   G1CS is encapsulated in an RRC downlink information transfer        message from the eNB to UE.

When the MME receives a S102 message from the 1×IWS, if the UE is idle,it proceeds to page the UE, then the UE can establish a LTE RRCconnections to the eNB, and a S1 signaling connection associated withthe UE can then be setup between the MME and eNB, for example.

In view of this further overview, according to further embodiments,reference is made back FIG. 5a , and in particular to operation 1 whichincludes the UE being attached to the E-UTRAN being registered with the1×RTT CS network.

Operation 2 shows the MSC sending the paging request to the CS IWS node.In some embodiments, this paging request is a circuit switched pagingrequest that is received at a network entity (e.g., the IWS). Thispaging request is for the UE that is attached to a packet data networkand is registered to a circuit switched network. At some point, data(e.g., calling party number) is obtained from the paging request. Thiscalling party number is data corresponding to a call from a partycalling the UE. Another feature of this operation relates to generatinga circuit service notification message having a general page message anda feature notification message, such that the feature notificationmessage includes the calling party number. Specific examples of thesemessages are shown and described in later figures.

Operation 3 is where the 1×CS IWS node forwards the 1×RTT CS pagingrequest and any included information to the MME via the S102 tunnel. If1×CS IWS has calling party number information obtained from step 2, itgenerates a G1CS message, which bundles GPM and FNM (with calling partynumber). The G1Cs message is then encapsulated in a S102 direct transfermessage sent from the IWS to the MME.

In operation 4, if the UE is in idle state, the MME may perform anetwork initiated service request procedure in order to bring the UE toactive state prior to tunneling of the 1×RTT CS paging request towardthe UE. It is noted that in operation 4, such action is not required ifthe UE is already active on the LTE. As such, the MME uses the S1-C totransport the G1CS to the eNB and the eNB uses an RRC message totransport G1CS to the UE. In some situations, the MME and/or eNB do notknow of the type of information that is included in the G1CS message,and instead have limited knowledge that it is a tunneled payload relatedto 1×RTT.

In operation 5, consider now the scenario in which the calling partynumber is carried in the G1CS message. As such, the UE receives from thenetwork entity the G1CS message having a general page message and afeature notification message. Since the UE has information about thecalling party (e.g., calling party number in the feature notificationmessage), the UE can quickly decide whether to accept or reject the callbased upon this information.

Notably, the UE in this embodiment has knowledge of the calling partynumber while the UE is in an active state for receiving and/ortransmitting packet data. In other words, the UE receives via thecircuit service notification message (and included data) a calling partynumber regarding an incoming CS call. Further, the UE may obtain thisdata prior to acting in operations 6a, 6b, and later operations.

In accordance with other features, if desired, the UE may act on thiscalling party number (e.g., receive or reject call) without delay or useof a timer. Recall that other embodiments utilize a timer in situationsin which the calling party number is not included in the receivedcircuit service notification message. The reason for such delay is topermit the UE to remain in the active “packet data” state while waitingfor a further message that includes such calling party number (which mayor may not arrive). Again, when the calling party number is included inthe circuit service notification message, the UE has ready access to thecalling party number, and thus, it is not necessary to implement a delayor timer.

In accordance with alternative embodiments, the method of FIG. 5a may beperformed without using the features associated with operations 6a(e.g., the release order and associated rejection). UE rejects the CScall by simply not performing step 6 and beyond and stays in the E-UTRANnetwork.

Another approach, denoted as approach C, in accordance with stillfurther embodiments is where the calling party number is conveyed to theUE with the 1×RTT channel assignment. Compared to the approach A inwhich the calling part number is provided after UE tunes to 1×, theapproach C provides the feature that the legacy 1×RTT network does notneed to be upgraded to route the calling party information to a 1×RTTbase station controller UE is going to be connected to. However, whencompared to the approach B in which 1×RTT MSC is upgraded to sendcalling party number with a paging request and a message containing thecalling party number is bundled together with the 1×RTT page message inone GCSNA message, the UE needs to leave the LTE network temporarily ifthe user does not want to take the call.

The following issues may be considered in order to realize approach Band C: a 1×RTT L3 message Y carrying the calling party number usuallycomes after another 1×RTT L3 message X (such as GPM or Universal HandoffDirection message), the network should make sure the UE can receivemessages X and Y at the same time. If the network fails to deliver themtogether, the UE based on the 1×RTT protocol may act on message X only,resulting in the UE either not being able to receive Y via the LTEnetwork, or not being able to take into account the information in Ybefore responding to message X.

Typically, a single LTE RRC message cannot contain more than one GCSNAmessage. For example in approach C, if UE receives a MobilityfromEUTRARRC message carrying a GCSNA message which only carries message X, theUE would proceed with handover to 1×RTT and would not wait for anotherGCSNA message carrying message Y. The eNB is usually able to concatenatedifferent packets or messages in the same physical layer packet for UEto receive them together. However, because the eNB does not know thesignificance of the 1×RTT messages carried in separate GCSNA messages,there is no guarantee it will concatenate the two RRC messages with eachcarrying a different GCSNA message, in the same LTE MAC/RLC packet.

To avoid such problem, the two 1×RTT messages may be bundled as oneGCSNA message by IWS in step 12 to be forwarded transparently by E-UTRANnetwork.

FIG. 5b depicts signaling flow for paging and other procedures accordingto various embodiments of the present invention, namely approach C. Itis understood that some or all of the aspects of the UE, E-UTRAN, MME,MSC, S-GW depicted in this figure may be implemented by thecorresponding entities shown the previous figures, for example. Ingeneral the depicted procedures include the scenario of a mobileterminating call procedure when the UE accepts or rejects CS paging forthe CS fallback to 1×RTT, for example.

In operation 1 the UE is E-UTRAN attached and pre-registered with 1×RTT.Next, operations 2-7 may be performed in accordance with the variousembodiments set forth and described with regard to FIG. 5a . In someembodiments of FIG. 5b , the operations associated with step 6a (FIG. 5a) are omitted. For instance, when omitting operation 6a, operation 6b isperformed such that the UE sends an Extended Service Request for mobileterminating 1×CS fallback to the MME and the method proceeds withoperations 7-17 below.

Operation 7 includes the MME sending UE Context Modification Request (CSFallback Indicator) to indicate the E UTRAN to move the UE to 1×RTT. Ifa priority value or emergency indication was received in operation 3,the MME also sets priority indication to the E-UTRAN. The E-UTRANprovides preferential treatment to this call in the subsequent steps.The E-UTRAN responds with UE Context Modification Response.

Operation 8 is where the E-UTRAN may optionally solicit a 1×RTTmeasurement report from the UE to determine the target 1×RTT cell towhich the CS Fallback will be performed. If the network supports PShandover procedure to HRPD then E-UTRAN may optionally solicit an HRPDmeasurement report from the UE to determine whether the target HRPDcandidates exist or not.

In operation 9, the E-UTRAN sends a HandoverFromE-UTRAPreparationRequest message to the UE to start the enhanced 1×CS fallback procedure.It includes 3G1× Overhead Parameters and RAND value. This message alsoincludes an indication that concurrent HRPD handover preparation is notrequired. When both the network and the UE support enhanced CS Fallbackto 1×RTT for dual receiver/transmitter configuration and the UE belongsto Release-10 or later, the E-UTRAN may after operation 7 decide, e.g.due to RF conditions, to direct the UE to turn on its second radio to1×RTT and retry the 1×CS call directly on the 1×RTT access network. Forthis case, the E-UTRAN in the HandoverFromE-UTRAPreparation Requestmessage includes a redirection indicator along with optional redirectioninformation. The procedure stops after this step and the UE tunes its 1×radio and retries its 1× call in 1×RTT while stillreceiving/transmitting data on E UTRAN.

Operation 10 is where the UE initiates signaling for establishment ofthe CS access leg by sending UL HandoverPreparation Transfer messagewhich contains the GCSNA1×CircuitService message containing an 1×RTTpage response message. In operation 11, the E-UTRAN relays theGCSNA1×CircuitService message to MME via UL 51 cdma2000 tunnelingmessage

Operation 12 is where messages between the MME and 1×IWS are tunneledusing the S102 interface. The 1×RTT MSC informs IWS the calling partynumber if available. The IWS sends back a GCSNA1×CircuitService messagecontaining 1×RTT Universal Handoff Direction message and optionally anAlert With Information message. The calling party number is included inthe Alert With Information message

Operation 13 is where the MME relays the GCSNA1×CircuitService messageto E-UTRAN via DL S1 cdma2000 tunneling message.

The E-UTRAN performs either operation 14a or 14b, such that 14b istypically only performed when both the E-UTRAN and UE support enhanced1× CS fallback procedure for dual receiver/transmitter configuration andthe UE belongs to Rel. 10 or later. Operation 14a is where the E UTRANsends MobilityfromEUTRA Command to the UE with indication that this isfor enhanced 1× CS Fallback operation, 1×RTT related information(GCSNA1×CircuitService message), and optionally the HRPD redirectioninformation or HRPD messages. The 1×RTT information containsGCSNA1×CircuitService message containing 1×RTT messages related to 1×channel assignment, calling party number and cause the UE to tune to andacquire this 1× channel. This is perceived by the UE as a HandoverCommand message to 1×RTT. If 1×RTT CS network cannot support this CSFBrequest (for example due to resource availability), the DL informationtransfer message is sent instead, with an embedded 1× message thatindicates failure to the UE.

If the network does not support PS handover procedure to HRPD or if notarget HRPD candidates exist then E-UTRAN shall release the S1 UEcontext (see operation 15a/b) after executing the enhanced CS fallbackto 1×RTT procedure.

For either concurrent non-optimized PS handover procedure or optimizedidle-mode PS handover procedure along with enhanced CS fallback to1×RTT, E-UTRAN may also redirect the UE to HRPD as part of thisprocedure. This is indicated by the HRPD redirection information in theMobility from EUTRA Command.

According to operation 14b, the E UTRAN sends a DL information transfermessage, with the embedded GCSNA1×CircuitService message indicating1×RTT preparation success to the UE. Operations 15 and 17 are usuallynot performed in this case.

According to operations 15a/b/c, if a PS handover procedure is notperformed then E-UTRAN sends an S1 UE Context Release Request (Cause)message to the MME. Cause indicates that the S1 UE Context Release wascaused by CS fallback to 1×RTT. The S1-U bearers are released and theMME starts the preservation and suspension of non-GBR bearers and thedeactivation of GBR bearers towards S-GW and P-GW(s). The MME sets theUE context to suspended status.

In operation 16, the UE tunes to the 1×RTT radio access network andperforms 1× channel acquisition with the 1×RTT CS access (e.g. 1×RTTBSS). A dual receiver/transmitter UE continues to receive/transmit dataon E-UTRAN. UE sends 1×RTT Handoff complete message to the 1× network.If UE rejects the call, a Release Order message is transmitted to the 1×network, and the UE does not perform operation, but reselects back toE-UTRAN.

In operation 17, the UE and Network follow the appropriate procedure forhandling non-optimized PS handover procedure or optimized idle-mode PShandover as defined in TS 23.402, for example, is performed. The S1 UEContext release procedure is as specified in TS 23.402, for example, fornon-optimized PS handover (clause 8.2.2) or optimized idle-mode PShandover (clause 9.4). This step usually occurs in parallel withoperation 16.

Embodiments will now be described in which two or more 1× message areincluded in the GCSNA1×CircuitService message. If desired, theGCSNA1×CircuitService message may use a number indicator to indicate thenumber of 1× messages carried in the message. One alternative is toinclude an indicator together with each contained 1× message to indicatewhether there are more occurrences of other contained 1× messagesafterwards. Such embodiments utilize various messages, some of which areencapsulated.

By way of non-limiting example, various embodiments will be describedusing messages such as the GCSNA1×CircuitService message, aTLACEncapsulated 1×L3PDU field, a GPM, a FNM, and other messages. Theseand other messages are shown with various fields by way of example only,and greater or fewer fields may be used. Some or all of the followingmessages may be implemented in the various messaging embodimentsdisclosed herein, including those depicted in FIGS. 5a and 5 b.

FIG. 6 depicts a GCSNA message and various fields in accordance withembodiments of the present invention. The GCSNA message, which may beconfigured as a GCSNA1×CircuitService message, may be used to send acdma2000 1× Layer 3 PDU (among other things). The message fields showninclude:

GCSNAOption: the sender may set to a value representing a circuitswitched service;

GCSNAClass: the sender may set this field to the GCSNA class to be setfor this GCSNAOption field. The GCSNAClass values are defined based onGCSNAClassRevision The sender may set this field to the revision of theGCSNAClass to be set for this GCSNAOption field.

AlternativeGCSNAOption_INCL: If the AlternativeGCSNAOption field isincluded in this message, the IWS may set this field to ‘1’. Otherwise,the IWS may set this field to ‘0’. The mobile station usually sets thisfield to ‘0’;

NumAlternativeGCSNAOptions: If AlternativeGCSNAOption_INCL is set to‘1’, the IWS may include and set this field to the number ofAlternativeGCSNAOptions. Otherwise the sender may omit this field.

AlternativeGCSNAOption: The IWS may set AlternativeGCSNAOption(s) thatthe mobile station can use for receiving the 1× message over the tunnelin the decreasing order of preference.

IWSIDIncl: The IWS may set this field to ‘1’ if the IWS_ID field isincluded in the message; otherwise, the IWS may set this field to ‘0’.The mobile station may set this field to ‘0’.

IWS_ID: If IWSIDIncl is set to ‘1’, the IWS may set this field to itsIWS_ID; otherwise, the IWS may omit this field. IWS_ID will typically beunique within an operator's network.

AckRequired: If the receiver is required to acknowledge the reception ofthis message, the sender may set this field to ‘1’. Otherwise, thesender may set this field to ‘0’.

StopDupDetect: The sender may set this field to ‘1’ if the sender hasreset the MessageSequence number and request theGCSNASequenceContextTimer(s) in the receiver to expire. Otherwise, thesender may set this field to ‘0’.

MessageSequence: The sender may set this field to one more (modulo 64)than the MessageSequence field of the last GCSNA1×CircuitService messagethat it sends. For a first GCSNA1×CircuitService message after protocolinitialization or the first GCSNA1×CircuitService message after theMessageSequence number has been reset, the sender may select any initialvalue for this field.

Reserved: The sender may include reserved bits to make this messageintegral number of octets up to TLACEncapsulated1×L3PDU field. Thesender may set all bits in this field to ‘0’. The receiver may ignorethis field.

TLACEncapsulated1×L3PDU: The sender may set this field as specified inFIG. 7, for example. If desired, two or more of these fields may beincluded in the GCSNA message.

FIG. 7 depicts the TLACEncapsulated1×L3PDU field within aGCSNA1×CircuitService message and various sub-fields within the field inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. TheTLACEncapsulated1×L3PDU field may include the representative sub-fields,but it is understood that greater or fewer fields may alternatively beused. In some embodiments, the mobile station and/or IWS use theTLACEncapsulated1×L3PDU format described in this section to encapsulatea cdma2000 1× Layer 3PDU. The message fields include:

1×LogicalChannel: If the PDU field of this message is constructed as iffor transmission on the f-csch or the r-csch 1× logical channel, thenthe sender may set this field to ‘0’. If the PDU field of this messageis constructed as if for transmission on the f-dsch or the r-dsch 1×logical channel, then the sender may set this field to ‘1’.

1×ProtocolRevision: The sender sets this field to the protocol revisionin which the sender has used to encode the 1×L3PDU (if included) andTLACHeaderRecord (if included).

MsgType: The sender may set this field as follows: r-csch: Set 2 MSBs to‘00’, and 6 LSBs to MSG_ID for r-csch messages. r-dsch: Set to 8-bitMSG_TYPE for r-dsch messages. Mini messages are usually not allowed.f-csch: Set 2 MSBs to ‘00’, and 6 LSBs to MSG_ID for f-csch messages.f-dsch: Set to 8-bit MSG_TYPE for f-dsch messages, as mini messages areusually not allowed.

NumTLACHeaderRecords: The sender may set this field to the number ofTLAC Header Records included in this message.

TLACHeaderRecordType: The sender may set this field to the type of TLACRecord as follows: 0x0: r-csch Addressing Sublayer Record; 0x1: r-cschAuthentication and Message Integrity Sublayer Record.

TLACHeaderRecordLength: The sender may set this field to the number ofoctets contained in TLACHeaderRecord field.

TLACHeaderRecord: The sender may set this field as follows: IfTLACHeaderRecordType is set to 0x0: The sender may set this record toaddressing fields followed by padding bits, all set to ‘0’, to make therecord octet aligned.

Reserved: The sender may include reserved bits to make thisTLACEncapsulated1×L3PDU integral number of octets. The sender may setall bits in this field to ‘0’.

1×L3PDULength: The sender may set this field to the length, in units ofoctets, of the 1×L3PDU field.

1×L3PDU: The sender may set this field to the cdma2000 1× Layer 3 PDUthat is associated with the GCSNAOption, followed by padding bits, allset to ‘0’, to make this field octet aligned.

FIG. 8 depicts a general page message (GPM) and various fields inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. In someembodiments, when Layer 3 at the base station sends a PDU correspondingto the GPM to Layer 2, it also sends the GPM Common fields to Layer 2.These GPM Common fields and PDUs may be used by Layer 2 to assemble aLayer 2 PDU.

FIG. 9 depicts a PDU format for a mobile station addressed page.

FIG. 10 depicts an enhanced broadcast page that may be implemented inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention. Inparticular, this message includes:

BCN (Broadcast Control Channel Number) includes if the NUM_BCCH_BCAST isequal to ‘000’, the base station may set this field to ‘000’ and thisfield is to be ignored by the mobile station. Otherwise, the basestation may set this field to the Broadcast Control Channel number ofthe F-BCCH to which the mobile station is being redirected. The basestation may not set this field to ‘000’ (reserved) or ‘001’.

TIME_OFFSET (BCCH time offset) includes if the NUM_BCCH_BCAST is equalto ‘000’, base station may set this field to one less than the timeoffset, in units of 40 ms, from the beginning of the slot in which thismessage began to the beginning of the Forward Common Control Channelslot to which the mobile station is being directed. Otherwise, the basestation may set this field to one less than the time offset, in units of40 ms, from the beginning of the slot in which this message began to thebeginning of the Broadcast Control Channel slot to which the mobilestation is being directed.

REPEAT_TIME_OFFSET (BCCH offset of repeat) includes if theEXT_BCAST_SDU_LENGTH_IND is set to ‘01’ or ‘11’, the base station mayset this field as follows. The base station may set this field to oneless than the time offset, in units of 40 ms, from the time specified byTIME_OFFSET to the beginning of the Forward Common Control Channel slotto which the mobile station is being directed for a repeat of thebroadcast message. Otherwise, the base station may set this field to oneless than the time offset, in units of 40 ms, from the time specified byTIME_OFFSET to the beginning of the Broadcast Control Channel slot towhich the mobile station is being directed for a repeat of the broadcastmessage. Otherwise, the base station may omit this field.

ADD_BCAST_RECORD (Additional broadcast information record) includeswhere the base station may omit this field if EXT_BCAST_SDU_LENGTH_INDis set to ‘00’ or ‘01’; otherwise, the base station may includeEXT_BCAST_SDU_LENGTH octets in this field.

FIG. 11 depicts a feature notification message (FNM) that may beimplemented in accordance with various embodiments of the presentinvention. In particular, this message includes:

RELEASE (Origination completion indicator): The base station may setthis field to ‘1’ if this message is used to complete an originationrequest from the mobile station; otherwise, the base station may setthis field to ‘0’. In some instances, the base station may includeoccurrences of the following three-field record:

RECORD_TYPE (Information record type): The base station may set thisfield as required or desired.

RECORD_LEN (Information record length): The base station may set thisfield to the number of octets in the type-specific fields included inthis record.

Type-specific fields: The base station may include type-specific fieldsas required or desired.

FIG. 12 depicts a calling part number message that may be implemented inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention. Inparticular, this message includes information for identifying thecalling party's number and includes:

NUMBER_TYPE: The base station may set this field to the NUMBER_TYPE 6value corresponding to the type of the calling number.

NUMBER_PLAN: Is the numbering plan in which the base station may setthis field to the NUMBER_PLAN value corresponding to the numbering planused for the calling number. If a presentation indicator is used, thisfield indicates whether or not the calling number should be displayed.The base station may set this field to the PI value corresponding to thepresentation indicator. If a screening indicator is used, this fieldindicates how the calling number was screened. The base station may setthis field to the SI value corresponding to the screening indicatorvalue.

CHARi: Is a character in which the base stations may include oneoccurrence of this field for each character in the calling number. Thebase station may set each occurrence of this field to the ASCIIrepresentation corresponding to the character with the most significantbit set to ‘0’.

RESERVED: Are reserved bits in which the base station may set this fieldto ‘00000’.

FIGS. 13 and 14 are block diagrams depicting examples in whichenhancements are made to enable a GCSNA1×CircuitService message toinclude more than one 1×RTT L3 messages, such as a general page messageand a feature notification message in accordance with variousembodiments of the present invention. The messages carried by aGCSNA1×CircuitService message are not limited to these two 1×RTT L3messages. For example, in another embodiment, the included messages canbe Universal Handoff Direction and Alert With Information messages. Inparticular, FIG. 13 shows a GCSNA1×CircuitService message having twoinstances or fields of the TLACEncapsulated1×L3PDU. One instance of thisfield includes the GPM message and the other instance of this fieldincludes the FNM. Put another way, the circuit service notificationmessage may be generated by including the general page message in afirst TLACEncapsulated1×L3PDU field of the GCSNA1×CircuitServicemessage, and including the feature notification message in a secondTLACEncapsulated1×L3PDU field of the GCSNA1×CircuitService message. Inan embodiment, the illustrated messages and fields may be implemented asfollows: GCSNA1×CircuitService message (FIG. 6), TLACEncapsulated1×L3PDU(FIG. 7), GPM (FIG. 8), and FNM (FIG. 11).

In FIG. 14, the GCSNA1×CircuitService message has one instance or fieldof the TLACEncapsulated1×L3PDU-common part, which is common for the bothencapsulated 1×RTT L3 messages, and non-common parts which include thetwo 1×RTT L3 messages. In other words, the GCSNA1×CircuitService messagemay be generated by including multiple 1×RTT L3 messages in separate subfields of a single field of the GCSNA1×CircuitService message.

In accordance with still further embodiments, there are situations wherea 1× network is congested, and the UE in the LTE network with CSFB doesnot know the congestion and proceeds to access with CSFB, causing morecongestion. Recall that the congestion my lead to emergency calls beingdropped. Consider the scenario in which the LTE network is notcongested, otherwise, the LTE access barring kicks in and non-emergencyAT would not request NO-CSFB in initially.

One mechanism to address this matter is to transmit access persistentparameters in LTE, wherein the IWS rejects/drops the 1× tunneled messagewhen 1× is congested. Problems may arise when the IWS itself iscongested. In some cases, the eNB redirects all 1×CSFB MO-calls usingrel. 8 mechanisms, and the UE can determine whether the system iscongested after being redirected to 1×. In some cases, this mechanismmay cause interruption of LTE service as the UE decides to backoff in1×.

The parameters for congestion control is signaled usingGCSNA1×Parameters defined by 3GPP2, which is part of the mobilityParameters IE in RRC CSFBParametersResponseCDMA2000 message andHandoverFromEUTRAPreparationRequest message. In some cases, the UE stayson the LTE after receiving one of the 2 RRC messages with congestioncontrol and decides not to continue CSFB procedures (i.e. Registration,MO-SMS, MO-CS call).

In the registration/MO-SMS scenario, the congestion parameters aresignaled to the UE by RRC CSFBParametersResponseCDMA2000 message. The UEis then required to receive this message in order to get the RAND valuefor the 1× message authentication, and other required 1× parameters. Ifthe UE decides not to access 1× through a tunnel, it does not transmitthe ULInformationTransfer message which contains the 1× registration ordata burst message

In the Mo-CS call scenario, the congestion parameters are signaled to UEby RRC HandoverFromEUTRAPreparationRequest message. The UE is requiredto receive this message in order to get the RAND value for the 1×message authentication and other required 1× parameters to originate a1× call.

If the UE decides not to access 1×, it does not transmit theULHandoverPreparationTransfer message which contains the 1× message forcall origination. If the eNB does not receiveULHandoverPreparationTransfer message for an implementation dependentduration, it notifies the MME that the UE's extended service request iscanceled (e.g., by UE context modification failure message with causevalue).

A MME itself can determine if the extended service request is canceledif it has not received an UL S1cdma2000 tunneling message, or any replyon UE context modification from eNB. One benefit is that the UE(regardless of 1×CSFB support) does not need to wake up for SIB8 updateson congestion parameters.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing in more detail various componentswhich may be implemented in a mobile terminal (e.g., UE 10 of FIG. 1)according to various embodiments of the present invention. It isunderstood that greater or fewer components than those shown may beimplemented. In this figure, the mobile terminal, as referred to hereinas UE 10, may include a wireless communication unit 110, audio/video(A/V) input unit 120, user input unit 130, sensing unit 140, output unit150, memory 160, interface 170, controller 180, and power supply 190.Two or more of the just-noted components may be incorporated into asingle unit or divided into two or more smaller units.

Wireless communication unit 110 generally includes a transmitter and areceiver. For example, this unit may include broadcast reception module111, mobile communication module 113, wireless Internet module 115,short-range communication module 117, and global positioning system(GPS) module 119.

Broadcast reception module 111 receives a broadcast signal and/orbroadcast-related information from an external broadcast managementserver through a broadcast channel. Examples of a broadcast channelinclude a satellite channel and a terrestrial channel. The broadcastmanagement server may be a server which generates broadcast signalsand/or broadcast-related information and transmits the generatedbroadcast signals and/or the generated broadcast-related information ora server which receives and then transmits previously-generatedbroadcast signals and/or previously-generated broadcast-relatedinformation.

Examples of broadcast-related information include broadcast channelinformation, broadcast program information, and broadcast serviceprovider information. Examples of the broadcast signal include a TVbroadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, a data broadcast signal, orthe combination of a data broadcast signal and either a TV broadcastsignal or a radio broadcast signal. The broadcast-related informationmay be provided to the mobile terminal through a mobile communicationnetwork. In this case, the broadcast-related information may be receivedby the mobile communication module 113, rather than by the broadcastreception module 111. The broadcast-related information may come invarious forms, for example, electronic program guide (EPG) of digitalmultimedia broadcasting (DMB) or electronic service guide (ESG) ofdigital video broadcast-handheld (DVB-H).

Broadcast reception module 111 may receive the broadcast signal usingvarious broadcasting systems such as digital multimediabroadcasting-terrestrial (DMB-T), digital multimediabroadcasting-satellite (DMB-S), media forward link only (MediaFLO),DVB-H, and integrated services digital broadcast-terrestrial (ISDB-T).In addition, the broadcast reception module 111 may be configured to besuitable for nearly all types of broadcasting systems other than thoseset forth herein.

The broadcast signal and/or the broadcast-related information receivedby the broadcast reception module 111 may be stored in memory 160. Themobile communication module 113 transmits wireless signals to orreceives wireless signals from at least one or more of a base station,an external station, and a server through a mobile communicationnetwork. The wireless signals may include various types of dataaccording to whether the mobile terminal transmits/receives voice callsignals, video call signals, or text/multimedia messages.

The wireless Internet module 115 may be a module for wirelesslyaccessing the Internet. The wireless Internet module 115 may be embeddedin the mobile terminal or may be installed in an external device.

The short-range communication module 117 may be a module for short-rangecommunication. The short-range communication module may use variousshort-range communication techniques such as Bluetooth®, radio frequencyidentification (RFID), infrared data association (IrDA), ultra wideband(UWB), and ZigBee®.

GPS module 119 may receive position information from one or moresatellites (e.g., GPS satellites). A/V input unit 120 may be used toreceive audio signals or video signals. The A/V input unit may includeone or more cameras and a microphone. The camera may processes variousimage frames such as still images or moving images captured by an imagesensor during a video call mode or an image capturing mode. The imageframes processed by the camera may be stored in memory 160 or may betransmitted outside the mobile terminal through the wirelesscommunication unit 110.

User input unit 130 generates data based on user input for controllingthe operation of the mobile terminal. The user input unit may beimplemented as a keypad, a dome switch, a touch pad (either staticpressure or constant electricity), a jog wheel, or a jog switch. Inparticular, if the user input unit is implemented as a touch pad andforms a mutual layer structure along with an associated display, thedisplay and user input unit may be collectively referred to as a touchscreen.

Sensing unit 140 determines a current state of the mobile terminal suchas whether the mobile terminal is opened or closed, the position of themobile terminal and whether the mobile terminal is placed in contactwith a user. In addition, the sensing unit 140 generates a sensingsignal for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal. Forexample, when the mobile terminal is a slider-type mobile phone, sensingunit 140 may determine whether the mobile terminal is opened or closed.In addition, the sensing unit may determine whether the mobile terminalis powered by power supply unit 190 and whether interface unit 170 isconnected to an external device.

Sensing unit 140 may include one or several sensors such as accelerationsensors. Acceleration sensors are a type of device for converting anacceleration variation into an electric signal. With recent developmentsin micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) technology, accelerationsensors have been widely used in various products for various purposes.For example, an acceleration sensor may be used as an input device for acomputer game and may sense the motion of the human hand during acomputer game.

Output unit 150 may output audio, video, alarms, and the like. Theoutput unit typically includes one or more displays to present variousinformation processed by the mobile terminal. For example, if the mobileterminal is in a call mode, the display may show a user interface (UI)or a graphical user interface (GUI) for making or receiving a call. Ifthe mobile terminal is in a video call mode or an image capturing mode,the display may present a UI or a GUI for capturing or receiving images.

If the display and user input unit 130 form a mutual layer structure andare thus implemented as a touch screen, the display may be used not onlyas an output device but also as an input device. If the display isimplemented as a touch screen, the display may also include a touchscreen panel and a touch screen panel controller. Examples of displayssuitable for the mobile terminal include a liquid crystal display (LCD),a thin film transistor (TFT)-LCD, an organic light-emitting diode(OLED), a flexible display, a three-dimensional (3D) display, and thelike.

Memory 160 is generally used to store various types of data to supportthe processing, control, and storage requirements of the mobileterminal. Examples of such data include program instructions forapplications operating on the mobile terminal, contact data, phonebookdata, messages, pictures, video, and the like. The memory may beimplemented using any type (or combination) of suitable volatile andnon-volatile memory or storage devices including random access memory(RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory(ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic or optical disk,card-type memory (e.g., secure digital (SD) or extreme digital (XD), orother similar memory or data storage device.

Interface unit 170 may interface with an external device that can beconnected to the mobile terminal. The interface unit may be awired/wireless headset, an external battery charger, a wired/wirelessdata port, a card socket such as for a memory card or a subscriberidentification module (SIM)/user identity module (UIM) card, an audioinput/output (I/O) terminal, a video I/O terminal, an earphone, and thelike.

Controller 180 typically controls the overall operations of the mobileterminal. For instance, the controller performs the control andprocessing associated with voice calls, data communications, videocalls, camera operations and recording operations.

Power supply 190 provides power required by the various components ofthe mobile terminal. The provided power may be internal power, externalpower, or combinations thereof.

Various embodiments described herein may be implemented in acomputer-readable medium using, for example, computer software,hardware, or some combination thereof. For a hardware implementation,the embodiments described herein may be implemented within one or moreapplication specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signalprocessors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs),programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors,other electronic units designed to perform the functions describedherein, or a selective combination thereof. In some cases, suchembodiments are implemented by controllers or processors included in thevarious apparatuses disclosed herein (e.g., mobile terminals, basestations, other network entities, and the like).

For a software implementation, the embodiments described herein may beimplemented with separate software modules, such as procedures andfunctions, each of which perform one or more of the functions andoperations described herein. The software codes can be implemented witha software application written in any suitable programming language andmay be stored in memory and executed by a controller or processor.

Although various embodiments have been presented as being implementedusing the exemplary series of operations described herein, additional orfewer operations may be performed. Moreover, it is to be understood thatthe order of operations shown and described is merely exemplary and thatno single order of operation is required. In general, features of anembodiment may generally be applied to other embodiments.

The code in which exemplary embodiments are implemented may further beaccessible through a transmission media or from a file server over anetwork. In such cases, the article of manufacture in which the code isimplemented may include a transmission media, such as a networktransmission line, wireless transmission media, signals propagatingthrough space, radio waves, infrared signals, etc. Of course, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that many modifications may be made tothis configuration, and that the article of manufacture may comprise anyinformation bearing medium known in the art.

The foregoing embodiments and features are merely exemplary and are notto be construed as limiting the present invention. The present teachingscan be readily applied to other types of apparatuses and processes. Thedescription of such embodiments is intended to be illustrative, and notto limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, andvariations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: generating, by a networkdevice, a general circuit service notification application (GCSNA)message, wherein the GCNSA message comprises a plurality of 1× messagesincluding a first 1× message and a second 1× message, wherein the first1× message is included in a first tunneled link access control (TLAC)encapsulated 1× layer 3 protocol data unit (PDU) field of the GCSNAmessage, and the second 1× message is included in a second TLACencapsulated 1× layer 3 PDU field of the GCSNA message, and wherein theGCSNA message further comprises information indicating a number of theplurality of 1× messages; and transmitting, by the network device, thegenerated GCSNA message to a user equipment (UE).
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the generated GCSNA message is transferredto the UE through a radio resource control (RRC) message.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the generated GCSNA message is transmittedthrough a tunneling message.
 4. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving, by the network device, a circuit switched pagingrequest, wherein the circuit switched paging request is for the UE thatis attached to a packet data network and is registered to a circuitswitched network.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein aftertransmitting the GCSNA message, the method further comprises: receivinga release order provided by the UE, the release order indicatingrejection of a call from a party calling the UE.
 6. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the network device comprises an interworkingsolution (IWS).
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first 1×message is a general page message and the second 1× message is a featurenotification message.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein thefirst 1× message is a Universal Handoff Direction message and the second1× message is an Alert With Information message.
 9. A method,comprising: receiving, by a base station, a general circuit servicenotification application (GCSNA) message through a tunneling message,wherein the GCNSA message comprises a plurality of 1× messages includinga first 1× message and a second 1× message, wherein the first 1× messageis included in a first tunneled link access control (TLAC) encapsulated1× layer 3 protocol data unit (PDU) field of the GCSNA message, and thesecond 1× message is included in a second TLAC encapsulated 1× layer 3PDU field of the GCSNA message, and wherein the GCSNA message furthercomprises information indicating a number of the plurality of 1×messages; and transmitting, by the base station, the GCSNA message to auser equipment (UE) through a radio resource control (RRC) message. 10.The method according to claim 9, wherein the first 1× message is ageneral page message and the second 1× message is a feature notificationmessage.
 11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the first 1×message is a Universal Handoff Direction message and the second 1×message is an Alert With Information message.
 12. A network device,comprising: a wireless communication unit; and a controller configuredto: generate a general circuit service notification application (GCSNA)message, wherein the GCNSA message comprises a plurality of 1× messagesincluding a first 1× message and a second 1× message, wherein the first1× message is included in a first tunneled link access control (TLAC)encapsulated 1× layer 3 protocol data unit (PDU) field of the GCSNAmessage, and the second 1× message is included in a second TLACencapsulated 1× layer 3 PDU field of the GCSNA message, and wherein theGCSNA message further comprises information indicating a number of theplurality of 1× messages, and control the wireless communication unit totransmit the generated GCSNA message to a user equipment (UE).
 13. Thenetwork device according to claim 12, wherein the generated GCSNAmessage is transferred to the UE through a radio resource control (RRC)message.
 14. The network device according to claim 12, wherein thegenerated GCSNA message is transmitted through a tunneling message. 15.The network device according to claim 12, wherein the network devicecomprises an interworking solution (IWS).
 16. The network deviceaccording to claim 12, wherein the first 1× message is a general pagemessage and the second 1× message is a feature notification message. 17.The network device according to claim 12, wherein the first 1× messageis a Universal Handoff Direction message and the second 1× message is anAlert With Information message.
 18. A base station, comprising: awireless communication unit; and a controller configured to: control thewireless communication unit to receive a general circuit servicenotification application (GCSNA) message through a tunneling message,wherein the GCNSA message comprises a plurality of 1× messages includinga first 1× message and a second 1× message, wherein the first 1× messageis included in a first tunneled link access control (TLAC) encapsulated1× layer 3 protocol data unit (PDU) field of the GCSNA message, and thesecond 1× message is included in a second TLAC encapsulated 1× layer 3PDU field of the GCSNA message, and wherein the GCSNA message furthercomprises information indicating a number of the plurality of 1×messages, and control the wireless communication unit to transmit theGCSNA message to a user equipment (UE) through a radio resource control(RRC) message.
 19. The base station according to claim 18, wherein thefirst 1× message is a general page message and the second 1× message isa feature notification message.
 20. The base station according to claim18, wherein the first 1× message is a Universal Handoff Directionmessage and the second 1× message is an Alert With Information message.